Wire-stretcher.



H. w. o EIIRIcH.

WIRE STRETCHER. APPLICATION FILED IuLY I6. I9I7.

.1 ,299,9-98. Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

INVENTOR WITNEssI-:s I y I n.

, Bv WMMVbl/v ATTORNEY HARRY WILLIAM 'onLLRIcIL or nLLsvtroIvriI.` WISCONSIN. l

WIRE-STRETCHER.

Speccaton'of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr.- 8, 1919.

Application filed J'uly16, 1,917. y Serial No. 130,909.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, HARRY W. OELLR1oH,a citizen of the United States, residing at Ellsworth, in the county of Pierce and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire-Stretchers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wire stretchers and it consists in the constructions, combinations, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a wire stretcher consisting essentially of a draw bar fastenedto ayoke which is adapted to be passed around a post, the yoke carrying sheaves .for receiving the wire to be stretched and also embodies stretching means whereby thewire may be stretched around the sheaves so that it may be nailed to the post right up to the wire stretcher.

`Another object of the invention is to provide a wire stretcher which includes a yoke which may be quickly looped around a post with means for securely attaching the stretcher to the post.

@ther objects and advantages will appear from the following specification reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which: Y Y

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the application of the wire stretcher to a post.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1.v i

Fig. 3 is a detail end elevation showing more particularly the wire guide sheaves and the wire lock.

Fig. 4 is a detail cross section of the parts shown in Fig. 3.

v It will be observed in Fig. 1 that my improved wire stretcher consists essentially of a yoke 1 which is curved some distance upon itself substantially as shown to provide an open space for receiving the post 2. A pair of draw bars 3 are fastened to one of the arms of the yoke 1 by bolts 4.

It will be observed that the yoke 1 consists of companion members which are made of metal and similarly shaped. The draw bars 3 are made preferably of wood and in order to secure the wooden draw bars 3 to the metal yoke members 1 and still prevent the bolt ends 4 from sinking into the wood, metallic loops 5 are made to embrace the adjacent parts. The bolts 4 are ythen passed through apertures in the loops, the draw bars 3 and the arms of the yokek 1 and thus screwed into position by the nuts on the bolts. The bolts are preferably counter sunkon the inner surface of the yoke so that there will be no projection that might interfere` with the yready application of the wire stretcher to the post 2. Y Y

The wirestretcher is secured to the post 2 by clamp screws 6. There is one clamp screw for each of the arms of the yoke 1. A swivel head 7 on each clamp screw bears against the post 2 and compensates for any inequalities in the surface of the post.

A stationary pulley 8 is mounted at the end of the wire stretcher-remote from the yoke 1 on a pin 9 which is supported by a clip 10. The clip 10 also serves as a spacer for the draw bars 3, the draw bars being secured to the clip 10 by bolts or any other suitable means. The pulley 8 has a hook 11 to which a draw rope 12 is fastened.

A movable pulley 13 receives one or more y bights of the draw rope 12, the number of bights depending on the number of sheaves in each pulley. The operator grasps the end of the draw rope 12 and in pulling` on it, causes the pulley 13 to move gradually toward the pulley 8. This accomplishes the stretching of the wire. The wire is gripped between a pair of jaws 14 carried by the movable pulley 13. One of the jaws is pivoted and has a'weighted end 15 so that the serrations.` of the jaw may rest upon the Wire which is slipped between the jaws.

Sheaves 16 guide the wire which is to be stretched, around the post 2 to the gripping jaws 14 of the movable pulley 13. The sheaves 16 are `journaled in top and bottom sheave supports 17 'which are in the nature of metal brackets secured to the rounded yends of the arms of the yoke 1. The configuration of the head ofthe wire stretcher may be observed particularly in Fig. 1. Here it Will be seen that the yoke 1 is of a substantial U shape the post 2 being adapted to rest in the bottom of the U. The sheave supports are substantially rectangu lar in shape and have twisted ends so that the longest portion of the sup-ports extends across the curved part of the yoke. It will also be observed that the sheaves are positioned in such a manner that when the wire to be stretched is applied thereto, the bearing of the wire will be wholly on the sheaves and will not wear against the post 2 or any of the adjacent parts.

A lock 1S which is pivoted in suitable arms 20 on a pin 19 has in its free end a V- Y 3 until it. nearly reaches the stationary pulley 8. This movement of the pulley 13 represents the amount the wire yhas been stretched, and it is quite necessary to hold the wire in some way so that the jaws 14 of the pulley 13 may bek loosened and the pulley 13 returned to its former position where the wire is again gripped. The lock 18 is for the purpose of holding the wire after the stretching action above described is accomplished. The lock 18 is simply swung inwardly against the wire so that it assumes the position shown in Fig. 4. Here it will readily be understood that the tension of the wirek indicated WV toward the right will cause the wire to be deflected from a Ystraight line between the sheaves 16 andbite very tightly into the angle at the bottom of the notch 2l and thus hold the wire from becoming' slack.

The operation of the wire stretcher is as follows.'

The yoke 1 is first hooked around the post 2 and clamped in position by screwing the clamp screws 6 inwardly. 'The wire W is then led from anotherpost to which it is secured, around the sheaves 16 and between the serrated jaws 14 of the movable pulley 13. The pivoted jaw 14 is first raised so as to admit the wire and ordinarily the weighted end 15 will be sufficient to hold the pivoted jaw in engagement with the wire It may also be understood that by pulling on the wire the jaws will clam-p more tightly thereagainstbecause of tne eccentric mounting of the pivoted jaw.

The normal position of the movable pulley 13 is near the head of the yoke 1 or' substantially in the. position. shown in Fig. 1. The operator then grasps the free end of the draw rope 12 and in pulling thereon gradually works the movable pulley down to- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for ward the stationary pulley 8. The wire W is thus stretched and when the limit of the movement of the pulley 13 is reached, the lock 18 is swung against the tightly stretched wire where the wire is held. The jaws 14 may then be loosened from the wire and the movable pulley 13 carried forwardly again to grip the wire -at another place.

One of the important features of my invention lies in the simplicity of the construction. All of the parts includedl in the construction of the wire stretcher performs either the function of bracing the stretcher or supporting some element necessary in its operation. The wire stretcher is therefore light and' easily applied or carried about.

While the construction and larrangen'ient of the device as illustrated in the drawings is that of a generally preferred form, obviously modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claim.

I claim In a wire stretcher, the combination with a pair of draw bars, a pair of U-shaped yokes, loops embracing one arm of the yokes and one end of the bars, screws through one of the loopsand having swiveled heads at their inner ends for binding against a post, and a block-and-tackle connected with the remote end of the bars; of a pair of supports' mounted on the bends of the yokes, sheaves j ournaled between the supports, arms projecting from the supports between the sheaves, a pivot pin connecting the arms at a point beyond a straight line between the outer faces of the sheaves, and a lock-plate mounted at its outer end on said pin and having a V-shaped notch in its inner end at a point to bite a wire running around said sheaves, for the purpose set forth.

HARRY WILLIAM OELLRICH.

l/Vitnesses AUGUST KUsC-HEL, O. J. HoHLE.

ve cents each, by addressing thecommssioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

